Citation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 1995; 44(50): 929-933.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8531910

Abstract

Health-care workers (HCWs) are potentially at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection through occupational exposures to blood. Although prospective studies indicate that the estimated risk for HIV infection after a percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is approximately 0.3% (1,2), factors that influence this risk have not been determined. To assess potential risk factors, CDC, in collaboration with French and British public health authorities, conducted a retrospective case-control study using data reported to national surveillance systems in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. This report describes the study and summarizes results that suggest that risk factors for HIV transmission include certain characteristics of the exposure and the source patient; in addition, postexposure use of zidovudine (ZDV) by HCWs was associated with a lower risk for HIV transmission.